I was 14 when the Democratic convention in my hometown of Chicago erupted into violence. It was a tough year.

The question for every Olympics is whether the giant investment will pay off in the future.

The problems of the world, from immigration to populism to income inequality to sustainability to peacekeeping, require a well-functioning supranational body.

Gender parity in management is a necessity.

Walter Isaacson attracts the best and the brightest to Aspen. It is exhilarating to listen to the likes of David Rubenstein and constitutional scholar Jeffrey Rosen speak about George Washington and Newt Gingrich and the original intent of the Second Amendment.

CEOs who boldly lean into fulfilling the dual mandate of earning profits and providing societal benefits will find a receptive public.

The trust of the mass population can no longer be taken for granted, and any continuation of the 'grand illusion' is dangerous for leaders in today's world.

Instead of worrying about potential disruption, brands can be creative societal disruptors - because their consumers will be right there by their side as committed partners in a better life.

We've learned that when a consumer moves from a relationship rooted in 'me' to one powered by 'we,' a new world of buying and advocacy opens up for a brand.

The pace of change in marketing and the marketplace continues to accelerate. Unicorn companies are challenging long-established brands, and categories are being re-imagined.

More and more readers are finding important and interesting content through platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and now Medium rather than traditional publishers.

Our goal is to put news where it earns attention, where readers can access it on every device and interact with it. We're meeting our clients' audiences where they are instead of asking them to come to us. Increasingly, that means hosting the content on social blogging sites like Medium.

We have been pushing forward on a new way of storytelling we call 'collaborative journalism' on behalf of a number of our clients.

We have seen an unprecedented dispersion of authority, such that 'a person like you' is now one of the most credible spokespersons on business, along with technical and academic experts.

Mainstream media has been abandoned by many, for ideological reasons mostly, and brands need to directly engage with the end-user of information and offer opportunities for consumer- and employee-generated content.

We're not going into advertising. But we see the future battleground existing between ourselves, digital firms, and media-buying firms.

I wake up every day, and the family fortune is on the line, and that's a good thing.

Most smart companies should make themselves media companies. That means they put out their own information.

Companies need to be very active in formulating public policy - not as a substitute for government, but as a supplement.

We have got to be more comfortable experimenting with different models. So maybe a client just needs execution people or a lot of young people who are great with social media. We don't always have to give them the pyramidal structure of senior VP and account supervisor.

As trust in institutions erodes, the basic assumptions of fairness, shared values, and equal opportunity traditionally upheld by 'the system' are no longer taken for granted.

It's urgent that companies tell their own stories on digital platforms.

Be smart about selecting your micro niches for communicating in the blogosphere.

I think that the direct conversation is exactly what companies need to earn trust of customers. Admit an error. Fix a problem. Commit to doing better. That is only human.